Black Sabbath's rocky reunion

When rock band reunite after many years, the results can be positive (like the recent reincarnation of Buffalo Springfield) or problem-filled (like these rocky rock band reunions.) Of course, there's a case to be made that the more drama there is, the better the ticket sales will be. But not all of the drama in the ongoing saga of the 2012 reunion of the original lineup of Black Sabbath has been under anyone's control.

The occasional reunion of this lineup over the years served mainly to whet the appetites of fans anxious for more touring and even a new album by the original (and, some say, best) Black Sabbath lineup: vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward and bassist Geezer Butler.

Between 1968 when they formed Polka Tulk Blues Band (later renamed Earth, then renamed Black Sabbath in 1969) and 1979 (when Osbourne was fired because his drug and alcohol use was out of control) this lineup helped invent the heavy metal genre and released eight of the band's best known and most successful albums.

Would they or wouldn't they?
As recently as 2010, Osbourne (who at the time was tangling in court with Iommi over the rights to band's name) expressed doubt that there would ever be a reunion of all the original members of the band. Later in the year, Butler raised hopes slightly, ruling it out only for 2011, because Osbourne would be on tour.

By the summer of 2011, reports were surfacing of meetings of the original members to discuss the possibility of touring and recording again. Iommi confirmed it to a newspaper reporter, but tried to walk it back after the interview was published, saying he had merely been speculating about the possibility.

As late as October 2011, Osbourne was still addressing the question with skepticism. In an interview with Hollywood Reporter he said, "If it works out, it'll work out. If it doesn't, I'll keep doing my thing."

In November 2011, the four artists got together to announce that, in fact, 2012 would bring not only a tour, but an album of new songs, their first since Never Say Die in 1978.

Black clouds begin to form
Barely eight weeks after the announcement, Iommi went public with the sobering news that he had been diagnosed with lymphoma and would be undergoing radiation treatment. The band had begun working on the album in Los Angeles, but immediately made arrangements to move to a London studio so Iommi could stay close to home (and his doctors.)

As a result, the band cancelled a scheduled appearance in April at the Coachella festival in California. As of mid-February, the tour is set to begin with a Moscow concert on May 18.

About a month after Iommi's announcement, Ward announced to his Facebook fans that he would not be participating in the reunion unless he was offered what he called "a signable contract." The next day, the other band members said they would continue as planned, with or without Ward, although said that "the door is always open" if Ward wants to return.

Final Chapter: No Reunion
The combination of Ward's contract dispute and Iommi's cancer treatments was too much, and the tour was finally cancelled before it even began. In it's place, Ozzy and Friends, a consortium of Osbourne, Butler, Slash and Zakk Wylde with a 15-date tour schedule.

Whether they will take another stab at it later is an open question, but it's safe to say you can go ahead and make other plans for 2012.